Which figure in music history would you want to talk to over a bottle of wine?

I would want to have a conversation with Bach, because I would like to understand the source of the tremendous energy he had for life. In a musical sense (as well), he was incredibly prolific and transcendence became a real, palpable thing through his music. Listening to Bach, you lose sense of all earthly worries; his music has healing and recharging powers.

Besides your own, what other instrument would you like to learn?

I would want to learn to play the piano well, because the piano allows you to join any piece of music; if transposed, any orchestral work can be performed on the piano. Having said that, I do love the incomparable experience of playing in an orchestra.

Which composer would you most like to be, and why?

If I could be Stravinsky, I would love to enjoy life with his fellow artists in the Paris of his age. A number of prominent artists who have left lasting marks (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Diaghilev or Cole Porter) would be my friends, and in this inspiring environment, I would become immortalized as one of the most renowned composers of the 20th century.

What has been your greatest disappointment?

I have not had to face real disappointments in my life. I found my path to the trumpet very early, and following a road paved with success at various competitions, it was always clear to me that this would be my calling. I am very grateful to fate for this, and to this day I do everything to always be prepared and humble when I play music, and to always feel the same level of joy.

Continue! According to my philosophy of life…

I live by Horace’s axiom of Carpe diem ("seize the day"), primarily in its original meaning, focusing on the mind. That said, I do also partake in some physical forms of hedonism.

Click here to read Tamás’s bio.

And view the short video portrait of him produced in 2017 (in Hungarian):